Leaving a legacy in Marblehead

Wednesday

Jun 18, 2014 at 10:44 AMJun 19, 2014 at 1:10 PM

By William J. Dowdwdowd@wickedlocal.com

On Tuesday evening, June 10, an art installation was unveiled in the backyard organic garden of the Marblehead Malcolm L. Bell Elementary School that will enhance teachers’ instruction.The unveiling occurred during Fine Arts Night, an end-of-the-year exhibition in which the school opens its doors and welcomes parents in to pore over children’s artwork.Marblehead High School Class of 2014 graduate Lauren Nohelty created the artwork, two painted murals with a chalkboard panel between them.“The idea was to make a piece of art but also to make it a learning space, so the blackboard will be a place students can draw or to teach on,” Nohelty said. “It’s like making the garden an extra classroom.”The piece is titled “Organic Garden Mural” and depicts two smiling children harvesting fruits and vegetables in the garden. The likenesses of kindergartener Emma St. George and second-grader Aidan McDade are showcased in the piece.Nohelty undertook the installation as her senior project, an out-of-school internship or independent study Marblehead High soon-to-be graduates take up. For their project, students pick choose to explore one of four categories for roughly a month: career exploration, artistic expression, community service or academic research.When Nohelty approached the school about her project, Bell’s Principal Donna Zaeske welcomed her with open arms, cognizant that the garden committee that oversees the little-over-a-year-old garden long wished to have artwork placed in it.“The kids learned a lot by watching her, and she had opportunities to engage with the children,” Zaeske said in the garden, children and parents buzzing around her.With Zaeske on board, the committee commissioned Nohelty’s piece. She spent six weeks painting the mural inside the classroom of her mother, Tammy, who is an art teacher at the school.At times, the little ones eagerly hovered over her as she painted inside their classroom. She even let them paint fruits and veggies on the mural’s trim.“It was funny,” Lauren Nohelty said. “As I started to painting the faces, they realized who the kids were.”Tammy added, “It was great because it gave them a chance to see the work as it progressed, from starting with a sketch, painting to a finished product.”The mural will be around for quite some time. It was primed in a house paint and painted in heavy-duty acrylics.“We all were told to approach the senior project thinking about ways we could leave a legacy and give back to Marblehead,” said Nohelty, who will attend Babson College in the fall. “I thought doing a mural could be a way to give back, use my talents and leave my legacy."